


So Long, Bubby

by PerkyGoth14



Category: Arthur (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-24 07:03:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2572478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dedicated to Joan Rivers who has passed away today. Francine gets the shock of a lifetime when she finds out during school her favorite grandmother had passed away and she wonders how to cope with life now without her after seeing her again during the tradition known as Yom Kippur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, how's it going? I've wanted to make an Arthur fan fiction submission for a long time, but I didn't feel totally inspired. I don't know why, I made a lot of Arthur stories when I was younger, but I never published any of them, because of course, I was younger. I've been watching Arthur since I was almost two years old and today on my Facebook, I got a shocking new story about Joan Rivers passing away earlier today. I don't know how I feel about that, I never really disliked Ms. Rivers, but I never really grew fond of her to follow either, it was surprising to see her guest star in a show like ARTHUR as Francine's grandmother. Nothing against her, it was just surprising. I'm not sure how to feel about her death and all, but for some reason, i was thinking of Arthur and her time on Arthur in the newer episodes, before that Ladonna girl showed up, so I present you this story. Read & Review.

Francine was writing at her desk like the others. The school nurse had stepped in to talk with Mr. Ratburn. Francine noticed the nurse had a grim look on her face, but she kept writing so she wouldn't get in trouble with her tough teacher. The nurse bowed her head and shut her eyes as Mr. Ratburn went to the monkey girl's desk.

"Mr. Ratburn?" Francine looked up at him.

"Francine, the nurse would like to have a word with you..." the teacher told her, sounding sad about something.

The tomboy was confused by his nature but went along with it. She stood up and left the classroom with the nurse. She had shut the door and folded her arms. Francine wasn't in trouble, but what the nurse had to tell the girl was just hard for a grown up to even bear. It was the saddest thing she heard earlier and it would be harder to tell the girl. Especially at age eight.

"What is it?" Francine asked.

The nurse released a sigh and looked back at her. "I'm sorry, Francine... But... I have some very sad news... Your grandmother has passed away."

"What?" Francine asked. Her voice was suddenly shallow and heartbreaking. She sounded like she was sick to her stomach and very unhappy now on what felt like a normal Thursday in school.

"I'm sorry, Francine." the nurse told her and held out her arms, offering a hug.

Francine looked back at the nurse and hugged her. She then let loose some streaming tears and felt very sick and unhappy now. Her grandmother was just joining the family again after her first Yom Kippur and helping Arthur cope with his memory losing grandfather and now she was gone. "Bubby..." she whispered very sadly and very emotional right now.

"I'm very sorry, dear," the nurse whispered.

Francine rarely ever cried. No one had seen her cry before. The other students were looking in shock from inside Mr. Ratburn's classroom. She wasn't sure what to do now. Suddenly, everything seemed unbearable and hard to deal with. This was truly an unhappy day for her. She just wondered what to do next as she was heartbroken and she felt sick to her stomach. She felt starving earlier due to eating a pastry from the toaster as a quick breakfast this morning and still an hour to lunch, but suddenly, all her hunger faded away. What was she going to do now?


	2. Chapter 2

Francine went home early this school day. She was really down and she was staring at the lunch of salad Mrs. McGrady made for her. Her friends noticed she wouldn't eat or pay attention to any of her friends. They were really worried about her and wanted to help her. Francine was almost never quiet. Fern was the quiet one, not her. After lunch, Francine's mother picked her up and took her home. At recess, the kids were talking.

"Why do you guys think Francine went home early?" Arthur spoke up, sitting on a swing next to Buster.

"Maybe her mother's an alien and she tricked her into coming home to do errands with her then take her away on the mother-ship dicept her brain." Buster suggested, believing his fantasies again.

Arthur hid an eye roll. Buster may have been his best friend, but the alien stories were just insane.

"Perhaps Francine is having post-traumatic stress disorder, it could be brought on by too much homework." Brain guessed.

"Oh, puh-lease, isn't it obvious?" Muffy rolled her eyes, standing next to the jungle gym. "Francine obviously had a fashion emergency like I do sometimes and called her mother to take her home to change that old, silly outfit of hers!"

The others stared at her.

"What? That's what I'd do if I were here." Muffy shrugged.

"Why don't we visit her after school?" Arthur suggested. "If anything can cheer anyone up, it's the comfort of a good friend and a tender, sympathetic ear."

"Arthur's right," Sue Ellen smiled. "It would be good if we visited her. She's probably feeling homesick. Arthur, didn't you say Francine moved in Elwood City when she was about your sister's age?"

"Yeah," Arthur grunted, remembering the first time he met Francine. She licked her lollipop and stuck it on her head for no reason. "She's lived here a long time, how could she be homesick?"

"I dunno, I've lived almost all over the world and I get homesick sometimes." Sue Ellen shrugged.

"Whatever this homesickness is, I'm not visiting Francine, it sounds contagious!" Muffy cringed.

Brain shook his head at her. "Muffy, homesickness isn't a disease, it's just the feeling of wanting to go to your old home when you've been away so long. I'm sure everyone's been there. Ladonna, Francine, yourself even..."

"Oh, then I guess I could get Bailey to make a fruit basket for her." Muffy smiled, kindly.

The bell rang for everyone to come back inside.

"We'll think of something after school." Arthur said, following Buster back inside the school building.

"Even if Francine's mother is an alien in disguise." Buster added with a smile.

Francine was at home. Her mother was in bed as soon as they got home, Catherine was very quiet for once and her father was at work. She didn't know if he knew or was just trying to not think about it. Even Nemo seemed sad, though he was there to comfort and support his mistress in anyway he could. Everything seemed dull now to find out this terrible news. The door was knocked on, so Francine slowly left her bedroom and opened the door with a grim face. She was happy to see her friends, but still boggled with her mind about the news about earlier today.

"Hey, Francine, we thought we'd stop by to see you." Arthur told her with a smile.

"Thanks... But you didn't have to..." Francine told them.

"Just wait until you see my gift!" Muffy beamed as she had her butler come in, struggling with the giant fruit basket with balloons and flowers. "I got you this fruit basket... Maybe it'll make your homesickness go away."

"Homesickness?" Francine looked at her.

"Yeah, Brain said you were probably sick because you missed home." Muffy confirmed.

"Uhh... Thanks..." Francine took the basket and placed it on the kitchen counter. "But, I'm not homesick..."

"You're not?" Muffy sounded shocked.

"Your mother's an alien, isn't she?" Buster came up to the tomboy. "Maybe if I talk with her, she won't dicept your brain and accept having an earthling for a daughter."

"Buster!" Francine nearly growled at him.

"What's wrong, Francine?" Sue Ellen questioned. "You were really quiet today. That's so unlike you."

Francine heaved a sharp sigh and sat on her couch, not looking at anyone. "Guys, I have some really sad news... Please, sit down."

The friends decided to sit. They had never seen Francine act like this before.

The tomboy looked back at her friends and sadly sighed. "My grandmother has passed away earlier today. My mom had to spend a few days away from home because Bubby had been having trouble breathing and she called my Mom to come over right away. Mom stayed with Bubby and she had to get on life support, it was so bad. Mom came back finally today and she called the school nurse and... Well, the nurse told me..."

"Oohhh..." some of the kids said.

"I'm so sorry, Francine..." Sue Ellen sounded so sad.

"Whoa..." Arthur felt his heart sink low in his chest. He had barely known Francine's grandmother, but she was an interesting woman.

"I know..." Francine nodded her head, sounding like she was about to cry again.

"So what if your grandmother passed away?" Muffy asked, not seeming to understand the concept of this conversation. "You can still visit her if you missed her."

"Muffy, don't you know what passed away means?" Francine looked at her.

"Sure, I do. Doesn't that mean she just moved away without telling you and she passed you?"

"Muffy, passed away means someone has died and they'll never come back." Arthur explained.

"Oh." Muffy looked at him, then bit her lip.

Francine sighed again and lay down on the couch, curled up into a ball. "Can you guys please just go? Today's not a good day to see me... Come back next week or something."

"Sure, Francine, we'll go, just hang in there, okay?" Arthur told her as he left. He knew a lot to understand about death. What with his maternal grandmother, paternal grandfather, and even though he was annoying, D.W.'s old pet bird, Spanky.

"Okay, Arthur..." Francine nearly whispered. As soon as her friends left, Francine felt sick and sad again. She then grabbed her pillow and started to cry into it, feeling she would never know true happiness again.

At the Read house, Arthur told his parents what had happened. Arthur wasn't sad as Francine was, but he could understand and so could they. The only one who didn't seem to understand was D.W., of course, she was only five years old after all.

"So Francine's grandma went to sleep and never woke up?"

"That's right," Arthur told his younger sister, gravely. "We'll never see her again."

"That's sad, Arthur," D.W. said. "Maybe she'll play with Spanky in the other world!"

"Maybe, maybe..."

"Why do people have to die, Arthur?"

"I don't know, D.W., that's just how life is... You're born, you live, and then you die."

"So, I'm gonna die?"

"Yes, someday."

"Are you gonna die, Arthur?"

"Yes..." Arthur really didn't want to talk about death right now. It was making him slowly lose his appetite.

"Are Mom and Dad gonna die, Arthur?"

"Yes, D.W.!"

"How about Baby Kate and Pal?"

"D.W., that's enough," Jane told her daughter.

"But what about them?" D.W. was still curious about death.

"We'll talk about it later, you'll understand when you're older," David added to reduce his daughter's flooding questions. "You remember when Spanky died? Well, that happened to Francine's grandmother too..."

"Poor Francine must be so miserable." Jane's tone grew solemn.

"No doubt," David sighed. "I remember how I felt when my father died... My mother couldn't sleep in her bed for weeks."

Jane hugged him as they shared their own memories. They had empathy and sympathy for Arthur's friend. D.W. looked at them and decided to go to her room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this was a little hard to write. I remember in a very early Arthur episode, Arthur and the True Francine, which oddly had nothing to do with Francine, she mentioned she went to her grandmother's house once. Now, she may had been talking about a different grandmother, but why not include her Bubby in that reference? Also, there's mentions of Francine's grandfather, I remember at the end of Is That Kosher? that Bubby mentions their grandfather in past tense, so he's mentioned here too. Plus, I just realized that tomorrow is Grandparents Day. That was always a lonely holiday for me, the only grandparent I met died when I was a baby, she was my mom's mom and I think it's because she's the only one I met that I'm so attached to her. So I kind of feel Francine's pain, even if this is just a story, I don't know if they'd do a Very Special Episode and kill off Francine's Bubby like that. Only time can tell. Anyway, enough of my rambling, Read & Review. Marc Brown owns all.

Francine stared out the window as she sat on her bed and Catherine had left the apartment earlier, deciding to tell her friends what happened. The younger Frensky sister heaved a sad sigh, she was still feeling lost without her grandmother. When Bubby came back to visit for Yom Kippur, Francine thought maybe she was moving closer with the family and something may have happened, but Bubby was very strong for a woman of her age, even after Francine's grandfather had already passed away years before from natural causes of cancer. She remembered before the family moved to Elwood City, Francine got to see her one time beforehand.

Francine was three, Catherine was 12, and they were visiting Bubby in their old town. They were a very poor family and could barely afford Hanukkah presents or even presents for Catherine's upcoming Bat Mitzvah. Laverne didn't really have a job and Oliver was just known as a garbage man. The Frensky family decided to see Bubby before they moved.

"Ah, hello, dears, so good to see you," Bubby smiled fondly at her daughter with her family. "Catherine, look at how much you've grown... And who's this? Laverne, I know you're losing weight, but slow down!" she looked down at her younger granddaughter.

Laverne hid a laugh and picked up the little one. "Mom, this is our other daughter, Francine, she was born a couple of years ago. You two haven't met yet."

"Oh, I see," Bubby smiled. "Ya better be feeding her, she looks like a starving dog. Maybe her Bubby should cook for her."

Francine giggled a little at her grandmother.

"So, what brings you all here?" Bubby asked, sitting at her chair while Francine sat on the floor, playing with some toys brought with her to keep her busy while the adults would talk.

"We just wanted to let you know that we can't stay in our old house," Oliver told her in a hushed tone so he wouldn't worry little Francine. "The rent has gotten too high and we can't afford to stay in our house."

"Yes, it's very bad." Laverne added.

"Why didn't you say so?" Bubby looked at them. "You can stay here with me if you want. I've wanted some company ever since Edgar left the picture."

"Oh, Mom, we wouldn't want to be a burden," Laverne told her. "We could stay here a while, but are you sure it'd be okay with you?"

"I don't mind at all, I just love my grandchildren's company," Bubby smiled fondly. "I barely see you all anymore anyway. When was the last time I saw everyone?"

"I think Catherine was just starting kindergarten." Oliver shrugged.

"Exactly my point, you stay here and don't worry about cleaning, I'll take care of everything until you all get back on your feet." Bubby said.

Francine looked up. When she saw her parents smiling and her grandmother smiling, she knew this was a happy occasion. She hadn't been listening to the conversation, but she stood up and hugged her grandmother's legs.

"Aww... She's so sweet," Bubby patted the girl's head. "Catherine, why can't you be as sweet as your sister?"

The pre-teenager scoffed and shook her head.

"Don't worry, Frankella, Bubby's gonna love and take care of you forever..." Bubby told little Francine as they held each other closely.

After that, Oliver worked extra hard to make extra money for the family before they would afford to move to a new place. Laverne left Francine with Bubby while she would take Catherine to school still and she would do other things with her own job. Francine really enjoyed her grandmother's company and it didn't take long for her to be close with her.

Those memories were very sweet and everlasting in a young child's perspective. When the time came for the family to move, Laverne told her mother she was welcome to move in with them to a new apartment in a place called Elwood City, but the elder woman said that her own house held too many memories and she decided she should stay until she's ready to get out of the house more. She was still a lot more active than most seniors her age.

Francine sighed as her memories faded. This Sunday was Grandparents' Day. Sure, she still had her paternal grandfather, but Bubby was great. She was like the best grandmother anyone could ask for. Oliver and Laverne stepped into the shared bedroom of their daughters' and saw Francine in distress. They wanted to help her and they knew it would take time before she would be back to her normal self again.

"We should let her friends come and find out what a great woman your mom was." Oliver said as they left the room after sharing a tight hug with Francine.

Laverne nodded. She had stinging tears in her eyes as he had brought the woman up. "I miss her so much..." she said in a choked voice.

"Oh, come here..." Oliver hugged her close as she let out more tears. "There, there... We're going to make it through this... She wouldn't want to see you sad."

"I know," Laverne choked, still in emotional distress. "Just, why so soon?"

"These things happen... I promise, it'll be okay."

"I love you, Oliver..."

"I love you too, Laverne..."


	4. Chapter 4

The kids were at the Sugar Bowl. It was quite odd to be there without Francine. The others slurped their shakes and kept looking out the door to make sure the tomboy was going to join them, but it seemed she wasn't.

"Francine must be so crushed about her grandmother." Brain observed.

"I would too," Arthur had the most sympathy. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Grandma Thora."

"My mom and my grandma are real close." Buster added.

Muffy sipped her drink, not really seeming to pay attention to the conversation. She then looked to see everyone looking at her. "What?"

"Muffy, don't you have any sympathy for Francine?" Arthur prompted.

"Why should I?" the monkey girl sounded rather uncaring about her best friend.

"You're her best friend!" Buster sounded aggressive. "Besides, don't you have any grandparents you miss?"

Muffy shrugged. "I never lost a grandparent... I don't have grandparents, you guys."

"Muffy, everyone has a grandparent or two, mine live in Africa where my little cousin moved here from." Brain told her, trying to get her to understand.

The rich girl rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Sorry, I guess I don't get it. I'll go visit Francine, I'll cheer her up."

"I dunno, Muffy, it seems a little too soon." Arthur sounded unsure.

"Just you wait, Arthur, the comfort of a best friend always works!" Muffy smiled, then left the Sugar Bowl to contact Bailey to give her a ride.

Arthur, Buster, and the Brain watched her leave. They all sadly sighed and shook their heads. It was too soon and no matter what Muffy was going to do as Francine's best friend was not going to work. Francine was in a lot of grief. It always felt so hard on a child to lose a grandparent.

The Crosswire limo drove to Francine's apartment. Muffy memorized her way up to the Frensky door and knocked on the door as she got there. She stepped back and waited patiently for an answer.

There was sniffling heard behind the door and Laverne sadly answered the door. "Oh, hello, Muffy..."

"Hi, Mrs. Frensky!" Muffy beamed, not seeming to notice the tear-stained face on Laverne. "May I talk with Francine?"

"I don't know, Muffy, she's in a lot of pain right now." Laverne wiped her face, sniffling still.

Muffy stepped back, noticing how disgusting Mrs. Frensky seemed. "Are you all sick? I can come back!"

Francine came to the door and had her head hung low. "Hey, Muffy... What are you doing here?" her tone was anything but friendly or cheery.

"Hi, Francine, I thought you and I could talk to get your mind off your grandmother." Muffy offered with a chipper smile.

"I don't think so, Muffy..."

"Come on, let's talk!"

"But, Muffy!"

Muffy didn't listen, she had dragged Francine to the back of the limo. Muffy told Bailey to drive them into town and he put the window up so the girls could talk in private.

"So, Francine, what's on your mind?" Muffy asked with a chipper smile.

Francine sadly sighed. "The funeral and visitation coming next week for Bubby. My aunt's coming over too, she lived with Bubby for a while, even after she graduated high school."

"Well, don't be like that, all doomy and gloomy, your best friend is here!" Muffy never took the smile off her face. "Come on, let's go to the mall!"

"No, Muffy, I just wanna go home and stay in bed right now."

"It's only the afternoon, you're not an old, frail lady like your grandmother, you don't have to go to bed now!"

Francine looked at Muffy. That comment about Bubby being old and frail really stung her. Her sadness quickly shifted to anger. "Muffy! My grandmother was not frail, sure, she was old, but she's not like most grandmothers! My grandmother did more than you would ever do and anything money could buy!"

Muffy was shocked, then turned angry. "Look, I'm only trying to help you, Francine. Best friends are supposed to make each other feel better!"

"STOP THE CAR!" Francine nearly growled, making the limo stop instantly. "I know what you're doing, Muffy, but it's gonna take more than best friends and money and shopping to make me feel better! I'm going back home!"

Muffy jolted from the door slamming. "How rude!"


	5. Chapter 5

Muffy just couldn't understand why her best friend would move on with her grandmother's death already. She never lost anyone in her life, so she obviously didn't know what it felt like. Francine was back in school, she was in a bit of a miserable mood. She still was a little bad here and there, having emotional hiccups, but she was good to focus in school with her work to keep her preoccupied. She was feeling a little bit better than before, but she wasn't exactly ready to move on quite yet. Catherine was able to spend time with her best friend Angie, Oliver went back to work, however, Laverne was a bit emotionally crippled. It was understood though, since Bubby was her mother after all. Francine was next in the lunch line.

"Francine, I just heard about your grandmother," Mrs. McGrady spewed sympathy for the girl. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It's alright, Mrs. McGrady, I'll be okay." Francine sadly smiled. Her voice had gotten better, but there were still hints of sadness.

"That's good, when is the funeral?"

"Tomorrow, would you like to come?"

"Of course! I'm friends with lots of grandparents, Arthur's grandmother is my best friend." the cafeteria lady smiled fondly. "I may not have known your grandmother very well, but I'd love to come."

"Thanks, Mrs. McGrady, I'll get my mom to send you an invitation." Francine said softly, then went to let another kid get a turn for lunch today before dinner.

Mrs. McGrady smiled, then served the next kids.

"Hey Francine, good to see you're feeling okay today." Arthur said as the tomboy came to sit with him and the others.

"Yeah... I still miss Bubby, but I think I'll be okay today." Francine shrugged with a smile, then sat with him.

The other kids started making other conversation. It would be a little too soon if they jumped right into the topic of Francine's grandmother, so they decided to hold that until it would be a good enough time to talk about it. Francine had also mentioned that her aunt was going to come visit for the funeral briefly, then the subject quickly changed so Francine wouldn't have an emotional breakdown.

"Hi, Francine!" Muffy came with her expensive lunch. "How are you?"

"I'm great, Muffy, thanks," Francine smiled, then continued to talk about their new topic. "So, anyway... I found out my Aunt-"

"I hope you're good enough to go shopping tomorrow because there's these cute new tops on sale and Daddy gave me another credit card!" Muffy babbled, interrupting Francine. "We can go tomorrow because there's no school and you won't be thinking about your grandmother."

Francine pulled a face. "Actually, Muffy... Tomorrow's not a good day."

"What? Are you still thinking abut your grandmother? She's gone, Francine and there's nothing you can do to bring her back!"

"Muffy..." Arthur nearly hissed to get her to regret saying that.

"What? She will be!" Muffy glanced at him. "We all know it. It's like Brain said, we're born, we live, and then we die."

"Muffy, I'm not going shopping with you tomorrow!" Francine said, rather aggressively with slight tears in her eyes.

"Why not? It's not like your dead grandmother is as important as your best friend!"

Francine gasped. "Well she is to me!" she then stormed off.

Everyone watched Francine leave, then they all glared at Muffy.

"What's gotten into her lately?" Muffy growled, folding her arms.

"She was just fine, then you made her worse!" George scolded Muffy. That was shocking. George never scolded anyone or mean to hurt anyone. He was shocked himself, but he was too angry to care.

"You know, if you were really Francine's best friend, you'd at least have some smidge of sympathy for her instead of buying your way to her heart!" Fern added.

"Muffy, why don't you do Francine a favor and just butt out?" Alex, the quiet rabbit boy in Ratburn's class said.

"Yeah, what kind of friend are you anyway?" Maria added, the other quiet rabbit girl in Ratburn's class.

"You know, you could all show a little sympathy for ME!" Muffy stood, angry with everyone speaking against her. "I'm Francine's best friend and all she does is mope while I TRY to cheer her up! You all just don't understand!"

"Don't we Muffy, don't we?" Jenna scolded.

Muffy huffed, then walked away with her lobster bisque for lunch. "Fine, see if I care! You're all uninvited to go shopping with me tomorrow!" The cafeteria doors slammed behind her.

The students nearly sneered as Muffy left, then went back to business.

"So, are you going to the funeral tomorrow?" Buster asked his best friend as he drank some of his milk.

"Francine needs a real friend more than ever now." Arthur nodded, biting into his broccoli.

Francine sighed as she went home later that day. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone. She kicked a stone on her way home and walked into the apartment room she lived in. Not even Nemo's mews could cheer her up. "Mom? Dad? Catherine!"

"Your dad's working late, your mom went to run errands and your sister's on the phone, sweetie." Francine's aunt called.

"Hey, Aunt Melissa..." Francine sighed as she sat at the kitchen table to get a little after school snack.

"Hey, Frankie, oh, you look just like your mother..." Aunt Melissa came into view. She nearly resembled Francine herself rather than looking like Laverne or Bubby. She had long dark brown hair with a sky blue sleeveless top, red long fingernails with endless jewelry and had a darker blue skirt with white slip-on shoes. "How was school today?"

"I kinda don't wanna talk about it..." Francine said softly. "My best friend doesn't understand how I feel."

"Oh, I know what that's like..." Melissa sighed and gave Francine a glass of milk while she pushed over a tray of cookies. "My best friend was a bit of a spoiled rotten girl herself... She was a great listener and we did everything together, but I wanted to play soccer while she would want to shop for the newest cute tops in the shopping center."

"Exactly!" Francine became animated. "Muffy's just like that. I like her and all but... She just doesn't seem to know what it's like to lose a grandmother."

"It's a painful thing, I know, when my grandmother died, I just wanted to lock myself in my room and pray for it to be a painful nightmare I would eventually wake up from." Melissa cooed.

"How did you get over it, Aunt Melissa?"

"It wasn't easy... A week after, I just powered down and didn't do what I normally do and take a break. I felt a little better after that and became myself again. Sure, I still miss my own Bubby, but I just don't think about her as much and neither does your mother."

"I guess I never thought about that... Maybe I should take time off from sports... But what do I do if we have plays against Mighty Mountain?"

"Just tell your coach you want some time off, I'm sure everyone will understand."

"Thanks, Aunt Melissa."

"No problem, kiddo. Why don't we watch a movie tonight, huh?"

"Okay." Francine smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Maria aren't my OC's, I'm sure you'd recognize them if you Googled them on Arthur Wiki. They are not OC's repeat, but good luck to finding that out. There are no OC's used here. Well, one... Maybe... Okay, introduction for an OC who I think would be proper to add. Francine's Aunt Melissa. Notice anything about her besides being exactly like Francine? :) Read & Review! Everyone else belongs to Marc Brown.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a pretty bad day in Lakewood Elementary School after Francine and Muffy's outburst. Francine had hoped that they could make up, but right now, she was more angry with the girl, than sympathetic. Why couldn't Muffy simply understand the extreme sadness of losing a grandparent? At the Crosswire mansion, Oliver was calling. Francine had told her parents how she felt and what happened in school, so he decided to have a word.

"Yes, yes, thank you very much, Mr. Frensky, I'll have a word with Miss Muffy." Bailey, the butler said, then hung up the phone. "Miss Muffy?"

The spoiled member of the Crosswire member came over. "Yes, Bailey? Who was it? Did you get me front row tickets to see my favorite boy band?"

"No, Miss Muffy, this is quite important," Bailey raised his gloved hand to settle down the spoiled girl. "You have been quite rude to Miss Frensky..."

"Francine?" Muffy glanced at him. "She and everyone else in school was rude to me, Bailey! I just wanted to cheer Francine up by going shopping, but they wouldn't listen! Francine is still upset over the death of her grandmother, she needs to move on, right?"

Bailey sighed and shook his head. The girl had never had a loss in the family after her birth, so she must have not been able to understand. "Miss Muffy, I understand that you can't understand how your friend might be feeling. It's very hard to lose someone in your family, especially a grandparent. Some children don't have grandparents around at all and they go through life without knowing them."

"That never happened to me, right?" Muffy folded her arms, looking rather smug.

Bailey sat her down and he looked deep into her eyes. "I never told you this before, Miss Muffy, but,... I am an orphan."

"But you're a grown man, you don't have to live in an orphanage or anything!"

"I know I'm a grown man, Miss Muffy, but this happened a long time ago before I worked for your father," Bailey looked down at her, recalling some memories in his early childhood. "You see, my childhood was rough... My mother died in childbirth, that means that she died when I was born, and my father couldn't live with the grief, so he sent me to live with my grandparents."

Muffy blinked. She never knew that about him.

"My grandmother made the best pies you could ever taste, she loved to bake pies for me and all of my friends, and my grandfather told the craziest stories," Bailey laughed as he was remembering his own grand-parental units. "My grandmother fed me, bathed me, clothed me, all the things I usually do for you, Miss Muffy. However, even though I never really knew my own parents, I felt like my grandmother and grandfather were my real parents, even if they didn't bring me into this world like my mother and father. I, however, was a little jealous of some of my friends as I got older... Embarrassed sometimes by their parents, but I envied that I never got to experience that for myself and never knew what a real mother was like or how a real father would be warm and brave. I also never got to have a sibling because of my mother... My old classmate Nigel Ratburn had a sister Rodentia, and mentioned how annoying she was sometimes, but I was a little jealous that I never got to be a big brother."

Muffy was still blown away. "I-I had no idea..."

"Eventually when I was going off to college, my grandparents had outlived their usefulness," Bailey continued. "I tried to go to college after I got the news, but it was too much for me. I spent a lot of nights crying, missing them. They weren't even my actual parents, but I felt like an orphan since I never knew my father and my grandparents were long gone. You see, Miss Muffy, no matter who you lose in your family, it can be heart wrenching..." he found himself sniffling. "Excuse me..." he muttered, then quietly left the room and shut the door behind him.

Muffy felt her body sting. Maybe she was a little too inconsiderate when Francine's grandmother was gone. She decided to make it up to Francine otherwise she would lose her only best friend. She didn't even have one when she was in her old school before Lakewood Elementary. Muffy went to one of her closets and took out an old black dress with purple socks and black shoes.

"This is so tacky!" Muffy cringed at the sight of the dress, but then sighed. "But... It's probably for the best... For Francine..."


End file.
